Tough For India Cricketers To Escape Attention But They Nee To Find A Way To Relax: Adam Gilchrist

Former Australia cricketer Adam Gilchrist has advised the Indian players to figure out ways to relax in order to get some-much needed time away from the field.

The Indian cricketers are the envy of cricketers across the globe. And the reasons are quite obvious. The players in this cricket-obsessed nation enjoy unparalleled fan-following. And the money they earn by playing for the richest cricket board in the world is way more than what others earn.

But then again every coin has two sides. While the fan following and the huge money might make the players happy, one cannot ignore the huge pressure they remain under throughout. A single loss or a mistake attracts widespread criticism for the team and the players. In a country, where fans treat cricketers as demigods, it does not take long for them to turn on their favourite players.

What has made the players’ lives even more tougher is the workload. Constantly playing across the three formats rarely gives the players a chance to catch breath. Unlike most of the teams in the world, India has the same core group for all the formats.  And when they get break from international cricket, the Indian Premier League come calling.

And Adam Gilchrist has now spoken on what the players could do to remain calm while dealing with the massive workload.

“It’s always been challenging. There’s so much cricket now, it gets difficult for these guys to have time off,” he told IBT.

But they just need to find a way to relax and get away from all the pressure. I know it’s difficult for the Indian players in particular. They can never feel like they can escape the attention.

It’s a challenge but my advice would be: Try and get a little bit of downtime often and not forget the fact you’re fortunate to be doing what you’re doing — that’s playing a spot, being paid for something that you love. Reminding yourself time and again of what you love about the game and why you do it will be of great help,” he added.

At a time when several players are finding it tough to perform well across formats, Gilchrist said that a good player will find a way to excel in all the formats.

“There are clearly some players who are suited to shorter versions more than Test cricket and four-day cricket. They will be pigeonholed into specific formats.

However, I believe the best players will adjust to all formats and be successful across the formats. Guys like AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root, and David Warner have done well across all formats. Top players will always find a way,” he said.

Indian team, meanwhile, returned to India after their tour of England ended on September 11. And the players will now leave for UAE to take part in the Asia Cup which gets underway on September 15. Just six days after the conclusion of the Asia Cup, India will host West Indies for a full-fledged series.